New ‘Thor: The Dark World’ & ‘Amazing Spider-Man 2’ Images:

Considering the two highest-grossing films of 2012 were both comic book adaptations, it’s fair to say that there’s a great deal of anticipation for the wide variety of big-budget comic book movies heading to cinemas over the next few years. Two of the more imminent releases are Thor: The Dark World and The Amazing Spider-Man 2, both of which are sequels to films that were fairly successful at the box office – though not without the usual division in opinion between fans and critics alike.

To mark the beginning of what will likely be a long summer of teaser images and trailers for Thor: The Dark World, Marvel Entertainment has tweeted a new promotional still in addition to those released on Monday. Touted as the first look at Anthony Hopkins back in the role of Odin, after sleeping through a good portion of the events in Thor, the image shows father and son side-by-side somewhere in Asgard. It looks like they’re either having a deep conversation, or watching a very dull play.

There was another “first look” at Odin shown very briefly in the Thor: The Dark World teaser trailer, with Zachary Levi as Fandral just visible in the background. Check out our full trailer analysis to find other tidbits that you might have missed, and what they potentially give away about the film’s plot.

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Amazing Spider-Man 2

A few of the images posted by The Amazing Spider-Man 2 director Marc Webb so far have been related to the Ravencroft Institute: a maximum-security asylum for the criminally insane superpowered villains of the Marvel universe – in particular those who have locked horns with Spider-Man. Ravencroft is effectively the Arkham Asylum of New York City, and therefore it’s possible that audiences already caught a glimpse of it in the post-credits scene for The Amazing Spider-Man. We already know that Colm Feore will play some kind of Ravencroft official, and of the new antagonists the Rhino (Paul Giamatti) seems like the most likely candidate to be found locked away inside the facility.

This latest look at Ravencroft tweeted by Webb doesn’t give away much more about the plot, but it comes with the amusing caption, “Ravencroft Christmas card.” Notice the poor guard in the back who didn’t get an official Ravencroft baseball cap and had to make do with a plain one.

Considering how many of the teases so far have been related to the Ravencroft Insitute, there’s a definite indication that the facility will be the setting for something big, whether as the site of a villain’s incarceration or as the stage for a dramatic breakout. Incidentally, all of the guards and dogs in the above picture are just three days away from retirement.

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Thor: The Dark World opens in US theaters on November 8th, 2013, followed by The Amazing Spider Man 2 on May 2, 2014.